Russia holds at least 13 workers of Zaporizhzhia NPP in captivity
13 May 13:07
During the occupation of Enerhodar, Russians illegally imprisoned at least 13 employees of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. This was reported by Energoatom, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
After the seizure of the largest plant in Europe, the Russian military began to exert unprecedented pressure on nuclear workers who refused to cooperate with the aggressor and sign contracts with the Russian Rosatom.
Since the beginning of the occupation, more than 5,000 specialists have been able to leave Enerhodar, and the company continues to employ them in other units.
Seven of them were “sentenced” to prison, including 56-year-old ZNPP employee Natalia Shulga, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and engineer Serhiy Poting, who was sentenced to 19 years. Three people are still in prison awaiting their so-called sentences. The fate of three more remains unknown – they are considered missing.
In addition, Energoatom reminded that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russians tortured Andriy Honcharuk, a diver at ZNPP, to death.
“All illegally imprisoned nuclear workers must be immediately released from Russian captivity. Zaporizhzhya NPP should immediately come under the control of its legitimate operator, Energoatom, and Russia should withdraw its military and military equipment from the plant,” the company emphasized.
They noted that about five thousand ZNPP specialists were able to leave Enerhodar.
ZNPP
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and the third largest in the world by total capacity. Located in the Zaporizhzhia region near the city of Enerhodar, it consists of six nuclear power units of 1 GW each. Its construction began in 1981, and the first unit was commissioned in 1984. The last unit, the sixth, was commissioned in 1995.
ZNPP annually produced about 40 billion kWh of electricity, which was about 20% of Ukraine’s total power generation. It is also the first nuclear power plant in the country to have a dry spent fuel storage facility.
The Russian army seized ZNPP on the night of March 4, 2022, after shelling the nuclear facility. Russia has also occupied the city of Enerhodar, near which the nuclear power plant is located.
Since the beginning of the Russian occupation, Zaporizhzhia NPP has experienced eight full blackouts and one partial blackout, with the launch of emergency diesel generators and safety systems. According to Energoatom, their failure threatens to cause an emergency.
The last time the plant faced the threat of blackout was on August 23, 2024.
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